MarkB

Had an extended test drive of an Evoque this weekend.

It's too small.

If you think of it as a mid sized hatchback 4x4 (Vitara type of thing), it's fine (if expensive), but for a family with dogs and to tow a race car and all the kit, it's just not big enough.
We drove the diesel and it drove pretty well, good handling, nicely done interior, decent poke from the engine - a decent drive all round really.

But there's very little room in the rear (yet another car where the rear seats will be uncomfortable for anyone over child size, but perversely the window line is so high, children can't easily see out) and the boot is small considering the dimensions.

Frankly, it's another MINI - looks good, fashionable, drives well and is well put together, more of a car than it's 'fashion victim' image might portray at first - but the packaging is poor and rear passengers and load space are compromised considering the outside dimensions.

A pricey (we specced ours at £38k) Golf alternative, but not a 'do everything' family car. Shame. because other than that, we liked it.

smnasn

Interesting comments Mark.

I quite like the looks but have always suspected it would be too small for my requirements (sufficiently large to take family on holidays to France for example).

I ended up choosing an XC60 which I've owned for a few months now and no regrets whatsoever. Reasonably highly specced, the XC60 came in at around £38k too but I bought mine through Drive the Deal and got £6.5k off list.

Nick Graves

I cannot knock RR for making the sort of Fashion Victim stuff the market demands; better than the old BLMC days when the cars were so frumpy, only a science teacher would buy one.

It's mostly that stupid roofline that pisses me off - the three-door apparently uses the same panel, simply raked even worse!

What's the betting the next-gen has a slightly less stupid roofline?

The flipside is, it makes the Freeloader look a lot more honest.

mikey k

Mark - pretty accurate assessment I'd say I'm sure JLR would be more than pleased if it was as successful as the "new" Mini. All three of the 5th gear nuggets raved about it which I was surprised at. They are normally a lot more objective than MR Clarkson crew.
smnasn - interesting alternative, how you finding it? I'm due a beater change soon.

s2000malta

I was invited to the launch of the Evoque here in Malta.

Its the size of a Qashqai length wise. Breath wise, its a bit wider.

Its looks and hanling are good and is a decent family car which will fit into decent parking spaces.

My Freelannder 2 is still an excellent car, as refined but without the gloss.

Its longer though and feels bulkier so it might time to downsize.

smnasn

I'm really happy with it. Decent quality, spacious, effortless to drive, it does everything it says on the tin and is a bit different from the norm too. The 5 pot motor is quite characterful, and although by no means fast it has that quite satisfying immovable object meets unstoppable force feel that you get with big cars being shifted by grunty motors.

The only thing I'd complain about is the sensus infotainment system is a bit buggy at times albeit the latest software update fixes a lot of issues and the sound quality of the system itself is very good.

I'd certainly recommend giving one a try

CHIPPO

Saw a black one today near Jack Straws Castle it was black, and at a glance seemed even more like a drugs dealers bling vagon than the RR sport , with its chopped down sort of roofline

mikey k

You would be surprised how much it shares

gaddafi

I'm sure that's deliberate

It's a popular look/fantasy for many buyers

Nick Graves

Yeah, it's really laughable when some weedy, middle-aged honky dweeb falls out of it.